Empire of the Sands
Population: 41,000 (100% Human) Government: Autocracy Religions: The White Flame Imports: Fruits, Livestock, Vegetables, Water Exports: Artwork, Clay, Camels, Coffee, Glass, Salt, Slaves Life and Society Like the harsh terrain of the desert, the life of the al-Bed of the Empire of the Sands is fairly harsh. People are divided into different tribes, related by blood and political alliance. There are numerous tribes within the bounds of the empire, and within the bounds of the entire 1000-Eyes Desert. Some are large, and are composed of hundreds of members, while others are relatively small, and are composed of only scores. The ten most affluent, largest, or wealthy tribes include the al-Bolas, the ad-Dharaal, the al-Fadia, al-Katuuf, the al-Malik, the an-Naml, the al-Qanaaq, the as-Sa’uufi, the as-Sha’rab, and the al-Zu’hajj. Permanent settlements are far and few in-between, with Dar al-Sulh being the only major city within the entire empire. Certain oases have semi-permanent settlements, but these, too, can be abandoned relatively easily if need be. For the most part, the people of the Empire of the Sands wander the desert, in the constant search for water and vegetation. As a result, most own very little, in terms of personal property. Communal items, like tents, food, and livestock, are shared. Camels are very important to the wandering tribes, as well as the more metropolitan residents of Dar al-Sulh. They are used for transportation, trade, recreation, and, if need be food. It is virtually unheard of for a member of the wandering tribes of the empire or residents of Dar al-Sulh to be unable to ride. Shortly after learning to walk, most are taught how to ride. Though leadership is generally patriarchal, the Empire of the Sands is very egalitarian, even among the more conservative of the wandering tribes. The rationale behind this is very simple- life in the desert is tough, and everyone is expected to do their part to ensure the survival of the tribe. Despite this egalitarianism, there are certain definite gender roles. Women are expected to raise children, as well as cook, sew, and attend other limited domestic matters. Men are expected to assemble and disassemble tents, bring home food, and fight. Women are taught to fight, but it is only acceptable to do so as a means of last resort, when men are not around to protect them. Men’s dress is fairly simple and utilitarian, consisting of a long, dress-like cotton thobe that covers the entire body, sandals made of camel leather, and a headscarf known as a hakifa. In Dar al-Sulh, many men adopt foreign fashions, or fuse the local thobe with fashions from elsewhere, as well as adorn themselves with jewelry, items that men in the poorer, more nomadic tribes do without. Women dress in layers of loose fitting robes, usually in different colors, and with decorative stitching. All wear hoods that protect their heads and faces from the elements, but in certain tribes, women go so far as to wear masks or even veils, as a mean to protect against the elements, and preserve their own honor, as well as that of their family and tribe. Women wear all kinds of adornments, such as earrings, bracelets, anklets, though in many of the poorer communities, these items are made of nothing more than common, valueless metal. One constant in throughout all of the Empire of the Sands is the worship of the White Flame, the indigenous religion of the al-Bed. The city of Dar al-Sulh developed into a city precisely because it was considered holy ground, being the site of the Flame of the World, the holiest sight of the faith. According to priests, the Flame of the World is the physical manifestation of the White Flame, the window in which it observes the material world. The degree of liberalism and conservatism in their worship varies from tribe to tribe. Generally speaking, the southern and eastern tribes are more liberal, while the western tribes and certain institutions within Dar al-Sulh are more conservative. The Sa’uufi tribe established Dar al-Sulh thousands of years ago, and are the traditional caretakers of the Flame of the World. The people of the Empire of the Sands are known, generally speaking, for their trustworthiness, honesty, honor codes, and hospitality to strangers. All are due in no large part because of the desert. A man who is untrustworthy, dishonest, and has no honor has no place in the interdependent tribal life of the al-Bed. Furthermore, all are expected to extend as much assistance to a traveler in need, because, at any people, they, themselves can be a traveler in need. Those who break tribal laws are usually dealt with relatively harshly, as many of the more common conventions of punishing offenders of laws, such as fines or incarceration, are unavailable to the majority of the al-Bed people. Tribal elders make judgments, and they are considered final. The most common punishment is temporary shunning or public lashings, but more extreme punishments for more extreme crimes exist, such as amputations, banishment, and execution. Music and poetry are two aspects of the humanities that are embraced and practiced throughout the empire. Songs and epic poems tell tales of ancient heroes, events, and tribal history. Music is generally played on a small selection of instruments, such as the ney (reed flute), rebab (violin), oud (guitar), and drum. In many of the wandering tribes, storytellers and musicians occupy important places in the tribe. Magic is not unheard of among the people of the empire, but it is not particularly common, especially among the more remote wandering tribes. The majority of magicians who live within the empire live in Dar al-Sulh, and are priests of the White Flame. Wizards, who require spellbooks, are a rarity within the city, and are virtually unheard of among the tribes. Sorcerers, who do not require spellbooks, are more common. Magic of any kind is considered sacred, and as a result, is used accordingly. Major Organizations The Expansionary Guard Major Geographical Features The Empire of the Sands claims the entire 1000-Eyes Desert as her sovereign territory, though certain areas, primarily the western reaches of the desert, do not recognize its validity there. The desert provides a barrier between the people of the desert and the rest of the world. This is what allowed the al-Bed people to develop into loose confederations of tribal communities connected by kinship and political alliance in relative isolation, as centuries of progress took place around them. This isolation which has protected their indigenous way of life also has its drawbacks. The empire has begun to establish trade contacts with cities and kingdoms outside of the desert, and has had to pay accordingly for the difficult trips back and forth through the desert to outside lands. During solar eclipses, the people of the empire have to look out for powerful sandstorms, called the Wrath of Aganazzar. These sandstorms are said to be the physical manifestations of Aganazzar, of the Thousand Eyes, the Half-Demon Effriti Lord whose disembodied spirit created the desert in the first place. Besides for these magical sandstorms, mundane sandstorms are regular occurrences, causing problems for the residents of the empire. Important Sites Dar al-Sulh Muhl Oasis Regional History The destruction of the Elven Empire of Maaledraar left a void in the political landscape of the north when it fell. Over the next few hundred years, the area was occupied by various migrant Human tribes living in or passing through the region, but was never particularly resettled. In UC -2,560, a group passing through the ruins of Maaledraar’s capital accidentally stumbled upon a hidden cache of Elven weapons and magic and unwittingly summoned Agnazzar of the Thousand-Eyes, a powerful Half-Demon Efreeti, into the world. The Efreeti quickly subjugated these Humans, as well as other tribes from surrounding environs, carving out a domain for himself. In an incident unrelated to the indigenous nomads unleashing the power of forgotten Elven magic, Planewalkers fleeing a cataclysm of some sort from their native home, a desert land called Egypt, arrived in Agnazzar’s expanding area of dominion in UC –2,545. Sensing their intrusion, the Efreeti ordered his slaves capture the Egyptians, most of whom were successfully imprisoned. Those who escaped joined together in a powerful ritual designed to destroy the powerful Half-Demon, and free their brethren. Agnazzar proved to be too powerful for the Egyptian interlopers to succeed in destroying completely, but the spell successfully destroyed his mortal form. The powerful ritual bound Agnazzar’s spirit to the lands he ruled, where his corrupt and evil sentience turned the fertile countryside into a barren desert. With Agnazzar gone, the Egyptian interlopers were the de facto rulers of the region- and, in an unintended irony, the land the Planewalkers immigrated from was a desert almost as barren and stark as the region that Agnazzar once ruled- now known as the 1000-Eyes Desert. The Half-Demon’s slaves were freed as well. The extraplanar interlopers and the former nomadic slaves began intermarrying and culturally diffusing, spawning the al-Bed culture. Because of the harsh terrain, nomadic groups based on location and bloodline quickly formed, and the politics of the desert became as shifting as the sands themselves. The one common factor that nearly all of the desert tribes had in common was their shared religion, a type of fire worship that venerated the ‘White Flame’. One particular tribe, the Sa’uufi, built a large shrine dedicated to the White Flame that, through treaties and alliances, would become a designated area of peace, where tribal differences were to be put aside as not to offend the White Flame. This designated area would soon grow to become the settlement of Dar al-Sulh, ‘Place of Peace’. In UC –1,985, Tariq ibn Ayad al-Jawari was born. The son of Ayad, the tribal leader, he would grow up to become a charismatic leader and warrior like his father. Tariq was a great deal more ambitious than his father, however, and began making alliances and pacts with members of other tribes, before engaging in a campaign that killed leaders of other tribes, as well as his own. By UC –1,952, when Tariq killed his father and assumed leadership of the al-Jawari tribe, the young man was among one of the more powerful tribal leaders in the desert. Not satisfied, Tariq would continue to subjugate other tribes, either by force or by alliance, and consolidate his power. In UC –1,939, Tariq ibn Ayad al-Jawari seized control of Dar al-Sulh and declared himself Pharaoh, the ceremonial title of the leader of the religious site. Egotistically, Tariq styled himself as Grand Pharaoh and declared the area of influence under his control to be an empire, the Empire of the Sands. Shortly afterwards, he began a military campaign to bring the remaining independent desert tribes under his rule. After conquering nearly the entire 1000-Eyes Desert, Grand Pharaoh Tariq ibn Ayad al-Jawari died in his sleep in UC –1,912. He had no children, and had no heirs, so his most senior military general Seti al-Aman inherited the empire, and became the next Grand Pharaoh. In UC –1,897, Grand Pharaoh Seti al-Aman achieves the goal of Tariq ibn Ayad al-Jawari before him, and brings every tribe in the 1000-Eyes Desert under his control. His imperial ambitions not satisfied, the Grand Pharaoh begins expanding south and east, past the bounds of the desert. A year later, his forces reached the Gates to the East Mountains, where they encountered resistance by the Mountain Orc tribes living there. In order to successfully route the creatures, the Grand Pharaoh decides to seek an alliance with the Shou Empire, on the other side of the Eastern Wastes. His emissary is captured by the Orcs and executed before he can successfully cross the Gates to the East, causing the Empire of the Sands to miss out on enlisting the help of the Shou. After a standstill of nearly a year, the Empire of the Sands routed the Mountain Orcs, and pushed past the Gates to the East, into the Eastern Wastes in UC –1,895. Because the Mountain Orcs killed the envoy that Grand Pharaoh Seti al-Aman had dispatched to the Shou Empire, the Shou never received word that the Empire of the Sand was annexing the Eastern Wastes, and meant no harm to their dominion. Emperor Jei Fong the Sagacious, leader of the Shou Empire, mistakes the intentions of the encroaching armies of the Empire of the Sands, and dispatches his army to push the invaders back, believing they were seeking to conquer the Shou Empire. The armies of the Shou Empire and the Empire of the Sands clash, resulting in a defeat for the Empire of the Sands. Licking their wounds, the armies of the Empire of the Sand retreat back west, abandoning their territorial gains in the Eastern Wastes. With the setback, Grand Pharaoh decides to abandon eastern conquest, turning his sights on continuing southern expansion. Being a military man himself, the Grand Pharaoh led from the frontlines, and marched with his men into battle. In –1,892, his camp on the southern front was attacked by Goblinoid raiders, and Seti al-Aman was killed when a stray arrow struck him in the heart. Upon his death, Hamid ibn Seti al-Aman, the late Grand Pharaoh’s son, became the leader of the empire. Unlike his father, Hamid was a weak man, who chose to replace his late father’s advisors and tacticians with sycophants and flatterers. Shortly after taking power, he decides to recall his armies, abandon the imperial ambitions of his predecessors, and return to Dar al-Sulh. The sudden dismissals of various tacticians and advisors by Grand Pharaoh Hamid al-Aman, coupled with the expense and death toll of a conflict that didn’t particularly accomplish anything caused tensions among the various tribes of the Empire of the Sands. A plot was hatched to murder the Grand Pharaoh before he could return to Dar al-Sulh. Shortly before arriving back in the city, Grand Pharaoh Hamid al-Aman was murdered, and his body dumped somewhere in the wastes of the desert, to never be found again. The murder was hidden from the troops, many of whom were still loyal to their leader, until the armies arrived back at Dar al-Sulh and native sons returned to their fathers, and their tribes. There, a Council of Tribes was formed, composed of a representative of the various major tribes of the desert, to govern the Empire. It was nearly unanimously decided that centralized government would be dissolved, territorial holdings gained past the borders of the desert ignored, and that life would exist as it had before Grand Pharaoh Tariq ibn Ayad al-Jawari. So it was, for nearly the next two millennia. Life went on in the desert as it had during the days of their forefathers, and their forefathers before them. The harsh terrain of the desert, coupled with its relative lack of notable natural resources, dissuaded other nearby cultures and settlements from encroaching in the lands of the al-Bed. Occasionally, individuals would attempt to alter the system, such as Ali an-Naml, a priest of the White Flame who attempted to establish the ill-fated Muhl Theocracy in UC –640. an-Naml composed a theological tract entitled al-Kitaab al-Kokoma Jayed, ‘The Book of the Good Government’, where he argued that only priests of the White Flame are qualified to govern, because they represent and can relay the wishes of the White Flame. As his book and political position grew in favor- particularly in the Muhl Oasis, where the an-Naml tribe normally inhabited- the Council of Tribes exerted political pressure on the clergy of the White Flame to condemn the radical priest. Within weeks of completing and publishing the treatise, he was deemed a heretic by his fellow priests, and banished to wander the desert alone, where it is believed he perished. Copies of al-Kitaab al-Kokoma Jayed were collected and destroyed, and those known to be sympathetic to an-Naml’s philosophy were either killed or bullied into abandoning it. Nearly 1,400 years after an-Naml’s theocratic beliefs were thought to have been stamped out for good, they arose once more. This time, however, they did so in secrecy. Sa’ad al-Asiri, a priest of the White Flame, managed to uncover a copy of al-Kitaab al-Kokoma Jayed that had not been destroyed in UC 1,072. He, himself, was sympathetic to the political philosophy contained within, and shared it with other, like-minded brothers. Together, they established a secret society, ‘al-Ikhwaan Ghoul’, the ‘Ghost Brothers’, that sought to enact the change Ali an-Naml wanted to bring about. Unlike the political climate during an-Naml’s time, the Council of Tribes was, at the time, weak and fairly ineffective. Slowly, the al-Ikhwaan Ghul gained more political power and political clout. Finally, in UC 1,147 they made their move. After a bloody scene in Dar al-Sulh where unsympathetic members of the Council of Tribes were slaughtered, Sapentu al-Qader, the charismatic son of the leader of the al-Qader tribe, was installed as the leader of the council. The al-Ikhwaan Ghul expected him to completely abolish the institution, in favor of a theocracy led by priests of the White Flame, as they groomed him to. In a completely unexpected move, however, Sapentu al-Qader consolidated power, betrayed those who placed him in power, and declared himself Grand Pharaoh, citing ancestral connections to the al-Aman family. In his first act, Sapentu al-Qader al-Aman re-established the Empire of the Sands, and had his personal supporters slaughter the al-Ikhwaan Ghul. Grand Pharaoh Sapentu al-Qader al-Aman controls Dar al-Sulh, and the majority of the eastern and southern tribes. He and his forces are slowly making inroads into subjugating the eastern tribes, who are generally the most conservative.